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It had never happened before, despite every Indian fan wanting to witness it and every team fearing it. Nasser Hussain's England were the unwitting guinea pigs as India experimented with a Virender Sehwag- Sachin Tendulkar opening combination. Chasing a modest 218 for triumph and a 2-1 lead in this six-match series, the pair fired India to victory under lights on a humid January evening at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

In 283 limited overs matches, Tendulkar has had a good many opening partners, but surely only one that looked like him, walked like him and, yes, at times, hit the cover off the ball like him. For the best part of the time, when the field restrictions applied, the duo ignored running between the wickets with the disdain of a staunch vegetarian in a fish market and dealt exclusively in crisp hits that scorched the turf and dented the advertising hoardings. Boundaries flowed, with Tendulkar finding the fence nine times and his stunt double striking five in the first fifteen overs.

It was a very special session for fans at Chepauk, with Sehwag and Tendulkar taking the excitement of limited overs cricket to its logical conclusion. Having creamed a 69-ball ton against the hapless Kiwis in Sri Lanka when he opened, Sehwag found the role very much to his liking. One of Sehwag's greatest strengths is his ability to recover ever so quickly from a rash stroke or a moment of indiscretion. Time and again, he was beaten outside the off, shuffling and having an airy swat at the ball, only to play a copybook cover drive off the very next ball. Andrew Flintoff's frustration knew no limits and the burly Lancashire all- rounder might have invited himself to tea with the match referee when he told Sehwag a few things after getting him to nick one.

There was no playing and missing for Tendulkar however. Leaving restraint aside for a change, Tendulkar went after anything that was wide. When the ball was just short of a good length and on the stumps though it was treated with the respect it deserved. Anything marginally outside the off, however, was cut away with keenness. There were drives, flicks, pulls and even a one-handed swat that made its way to the boundary ropes. With the platform the pair had so effortlessly established and the total not being large enough to pose a serious threat despite India's best attempt at a middle order collapse, the match played itself out to a practically standard format one-day finish. Tendulkar (68) and Sehwag (51) took India to 130 in 26 overs before handing over the proceedings to the supporting cast.

One couldn't help but let the mind wander back to the last time an international was played in Chennai. Australia had India on tenterhooks as a humdinger resolved itself in India's favour in five days. The Indians seemed keen to revisit that day and recreated as much of the tension as was possible. Losing three wickets after some unconvincing batting, India played into Hussain's hands. Pulling every stop, Hussain applied immense pressure, singling out young stumper Ajay Ratra for treatment that could only be described as childish. The pugnacious stumper, however, showed great character, letting his cricket do the talking in an unbeaten innings of 29 that took India home.

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After a discoloured and soft ball was changed in the 38th over amidst prolonged and vocal protests from the English skipper, the visitors began to see conspiracies where none existed, frequently questioning the umpires. The captain and at least one hot-headed bowler repeatedly approached the batsmen and gave them a talking to. Jeremy Snape took things too far when he shoved Hemang Badani away when the batsman backed up at the non-striker's end. That piece of physical contact, in a sport that has no place for boorish behaviour, should be enough to earn Snape a suspension.

In the second one-dayer, it was third umpire MR Singh who was overworked, constantly being called up to make decisions. Here at Chennai, it will be match referee Dennis Lindsay who takes a long, hard look at things before summoning the England captain. One wonders what defence Hussain will put up for the actions of himself and his team, and indeed what the outcome of Lindsay's meeting would be. One thing is certain though, on the day, it wasn't 'One team that was the loser, but the game itself.' Heard that line somewhere recently Nasser?

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